1. Field
The following description relates to apparatuses and methods of multi-view rendering.
2. Description of the Related Art
Three-dimensional (3D) display technology allows a viewer to recognize an image displayed on a screen in a 3D manner. Examples of 3D display technology are based on binocular disparity to give the viewer of the image a 3D stereoscopic sense, such as, for example, a depth sense or a perspective sense. For example, images obtained from two different viewpoints are viewed by a left eye and a right eye of a viewer, thereby enabling the viewer to experience the 3D stereoscopic sense.
A glass-type stereoscopic display is an example of a 3D display that enables the left eye and the right eye of the viewer to observe images obtained from two different viewpoints using 3D glasses, thereby enabling the viewer to experience the 3D stereoscopic sense. A multi-view 3D display is an example of a 3D display that enables the viewer to observe images obtained from multiple viewpoints without wearing 3D glasses.
In the multi-view 3D display, images obtained from multiple viewpoints are spatially mapped to a plurality of divided viewing zones, thereby enabling the viewer to observe the images obtained from different viewpoints according to a position in which the viewer observes the images. The multi-view 3D display uses images obtained from as many viewpoints as the number of viewpoints set for a multi-view display to reproduce a 3D image. The images are obtained by rendering 3D objects from each of the viewpoints set for the multi-view 3D display.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a multi-view 3D display. In the multi-view 3D display, images obtained from a plurality of viewpoints are spatially mapped to a plurality of divided viewing zones so that viewers observe images from different viewpoints according to viewing positions. Referring to the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the viewers observe images 150, 160, 170, and 180 obtained from different viewpoints of a 3D object according to viewing positions 110, 120, 130, and 140 while viewing the same scene 100.
The multi-view 3D display reproduces a 3D image by obtaining images from the viewpoints of the multi-view 3D display. That is, rendering of 3D objects is performed in each of the viewpoints of the multi-view 3D display. A rendering operation is used by the multi-view 3D display to perform a large number of calculations repeatedly for each of the viewpoints of the multi-view 3D display. To efficiently perform the repeated calculations and provide quality 3D images, the multi-view 3D display is enabled to supply the rendering operation with a large amount of time and optimal hardware performance.